Telltale for blood storage containers



Oct. 21; 195

w. M. HUYCK ETAL TELL-TALE FOR BLOOD STORAGE CONTAINERS Filed April 15, 1957 FIG.

FIG. 2.

FIG. 3.

hv vew TORS mum 1/. #m/r' VII/6'5 A. [Will/'0 ATTDRNEY United States Patent I 2,856,886 TELLTALE non moon STORAGE CONTAINERS Willard M. Huyck, Woodland Hills, and Vincent A. Romito, North Hollywood, Calif.

Application April 15, 1957, Serial No. 652,773

8 Claims. (Cl. 116*106) This invention relates to a telltale device for use in association with a container for the storage for sub-- sequent use of human blood or other physiological liquids.

In the handing of supplies of human blood after the blood has been taken from donors, it is customary to collect the blood in more or less standardized especially constructed bottles for refrigeration until the blood is to be used. Whole blood must be stored under refrigeration at temperatures below 50 F. and preferably between 39 and 43 F. Whole blood must not be used if it has been frozen, and regardless of the temperature must not be used if stored for more than '21 days. Our invention consists generally in providing a visible indicator or telltale device in association with or inside the blood storage bottle which by change of appearance in the portion of the device visible above the blood level in the storage bottle will indicate whether or not the particular bottle of blood has ever, since the initial refrigeration, reached a temperature above 50 R, such as during its transportation from the refrigerator to the point of use in a hospital operating room or the like.

One object of the invention is to provide a telltale device which may be installed in or on a blood storage bottle and which by its appearance in the portion visible above the blood level indicates whether or not the particular batch of blood has ever, since the initial refrigeration, reached a temperature high enough to make it unsafe for transfusion use. Another object is to provide a precooled telltale device for use in connection with a blood storage bottle which is applied to the blood bottle after initial chilling of the contents and which will indicate that the contents of the bottle had at some interval reached the critical high temperature at which it would become unsafe for transfusion use, and which indicator is not capable of being re-used after it has been warmed.

These and other objects are attained by our invention which will be understood from the following description, reference being made to the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view partly in section showing the essential details of a commonly used form of blood storage bottle including our telltale device installed within an enclosing tube adjustably attached to the bottle stopper and depending into the blood in the bottle;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged side elevational view partly in section showing a preferred form of our blood storage telltale; and

Fig. 3 is a side elevational view of the telltale shown in Fig. 2, after the blood storage bottle has attained a temperature above the melting point of the indicator pellet.

Referring to the drawings, particularly Fig. 1, a typical conventional blood storage bottle consists of a glass bottle having an inserted rubber stopper 11, and also having near the bottom of the bottle a metal band 12 and a bail 13 hingedly attached thereto by which the bottle and contents may be hung in an inverted position,

2 I for example during the removal of the contents in a blood transfusion operation. The stopper 11 is provided, on the inside of the bottle, with a needle hole 14 which does not go entirely through the stopper, but-which permits the puncturing penetration by a hypodermic needle, or other tube, for withdrawal of the blood. The stopper 11 is also provided with a long glass tube 15 which is mounted in a hole 16 which also'do'es not extend entirely through to the outer face of the stopper but is puncturable by means of a hypodermic needle or the like in order to allow air to enter the container when blood is being withdrawn from the inverted bottle through the opening 14. The stopper is further provided with an indicator enclosing tube 17 having an open end 18 extending above the outer face of the stopper 1 1, the lower end 19 of the enclosing tube 17 being closed and extending below a normal blood level line 20 which is marked on the upper side wall of the glass bottle 10. The open end 18 of the enclosing tube 17 is provided with a removable stopper 21 which may be removed after the bottle and contents have been chilled below about 50 for introduction of the telltale device. The tubular. telltale device, marked generally 22, is inserted within the glass tube 17 for use in indicating of the temperature of the blood stored in the bottle has become too warm for I use in transfusions.

The preferred form of our telltale device is shown in Fig. 2 and consists of a closed-end transparent tube 25 of small enough diameter to be inserted in the enclosing tube 17 for use in indicating if the temperature of the composition or mixture which melts at approximately the critical high temperature for the blood in the bottle is positioned midway in the tube 25 by a glass rod 27 resting on the bottom 28, the length of the rod 27 being selected so that the pellet 26 will be visible above the blood line 20 of the bottle 10 in which the telltale 22 is to be used. The glass rod 27 has a diameter smaller than the inside diameter of the tube 25, so that when the telltale 22 has been subjected to temperatures above the melting point of the pellet 26, the pellet will not retain its form and the melted material 26 will flow around the glass rod 27 inside the tube 25, and thus will not be visible as a pellet supported on the supporting rod. The solidified pellet may also be positioned relative to the blood level in the bottle by raising or lowering the enclosing tube or the position of the telltale in the enclosing tube.

The pellets are slightly smaller in diameter than the inside of the tubes 25 and are pre-formed in suitable molds, and are then placed in the tubes with the glass rods 27 holding the pellets. It is important that some air escape space be provided around the pellets so that when they melt, the liquid will flow to the bottom of the tube, and not be held midway because of the capillary forces. The sealing stoppers 29 are inserted to close the tubes, and the telltales are then maintained at temperatures below the melting point of the pellets until inserted in the enclosing tubes 17 of already chilled blood in the bottles 10. The tubular units 22 themselves may be attached to the outside of the bottles of blood, or may be inserted in the stopper 11 in place of the enclosing tube 17, and be adjustable therein as in the enclosing tube.

For use in the storage of whole blood, it is desirable that the telltale indicate when a temperature of the blood slightly above F. has been attained. For this purpose, we prefer to use a mixture of equal weights of n-undecyl alcohol and ethyl myristate, which was found to melt to a liquid between 50 and F. Other compositions which may be used for forming the pellets are the above named n-undecyl alcohol, which alone melts in the range of 59 to 63 F. ethyl myristate which alone melts in the range of 50 to 54 F.; iso-amyl stearate which alone melts in the range of 50 to 59 F.; Z-undeconone, which melts in the range of 52 to 55 F.; p-bromophenetole, which melts in the range of 50 t-54 F.; and'mixtures of these compounds which give the desired melting point range. Because of the lag in temperature between the telltale and the blood itself, a temperature range must be selected depending upon'the placement of the telltale, the size of the bottle, etc.

The solidifiable liquid compositions above described may be colored, if desired, to contrast with the color of the blood, for example, by adding Kruegers oil emerald green conc.'dye in an amount of approximately percent to give the desired depth of color. a

blood storage bottles will be apparent from the above description. The telltal'es are inexpensive to manufacture, and because of their simplicity of mechanical structure, are certain in use.

We claim: i

1. A telltale device for a materialstorage bottle consisting of an elongated transparent tube; a fusible pellet disposed at an intermediate position in Saidtube, said pellet being of size and shape permitting air passage around it within said tube; and a support means below said pellet for supporting said pellet in selected position in said tube; said pellet being pre-formed from an organic chemical composition having a melting point slightly higher than the critical high temperature to be indicated by said telltale.

2. The device defined in claim 1, in which the critical temperature to be indicated is between F. and 63 F. and the material for storage is whole human blood.

3. The device defined in claim 2, in which the pellet is a mixture of approximately equal weights of n-undecyl alcohol and ethyl myristate.

4. The device defined in claim 2, in which the pellet is n-undecyl alcohol.

5. The device defined in claim 2, in which the pellet is ethyl myristate.

6. The device defined inclaim 2, is Z-undeconone.

7. The device defined in claim 2, is p-bromophenetole.

8. The device defined in claim 2, is iso-amyl stearate.

in which the pellet in which the pellet in which the pellet References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,460,215 Chase Ian. 25, 1949 

1. A TELLTALE DEVICE FOR A MATERIAL STORAGE BOTTLE CONSISTING OF AN ELONGATED TRANSPARENT TUBE; A FUSIBLE PELLET DISPOSED AT A INTERMEDIATE POSITION IN SAID TUBE, SAID PELLET BEING OF SAID AND SHAPE PERMITTING AIR PASSAGE AROUND IT WITHIN SAID TUBE; AND A SUPPORT MEANS BELOW SAID PELLET FOR SUPPORTING SAID PELLET IN SELECTED POSITION IN SAID TUBE; SAID PELLET BEING PRE-FORMED FROM AN ORGANIC CHEMICAL COMPOSITION HAVING A MELTING POINT SLIGHTLY HIGHER THAN THE CRITICAL HIGH TEMPERATURE TO BE INDICATED BY SAID TELLTALE. 